The origin of the apricot is disputed. It was known in Armenia during ancient times, and has been cultivated there for so long, it is often thought to have originated there.[4][5] Its scientific namePrunus armeniaca (Armenian plum) derives from that assumption.

For example, the Belgian arborist baron de Poerderlé, writing in the 1770s, asserted, “Cet arbre tire son nom de l’Arménie, province d’Asie, d’où il est originaire et d’où il fut porté en Europe …” (“this tree takes its name from Armenia, province of Asia, where it is native, and whence it was brought to Europe …”).[6] An archaeological excavation at Garni in Armenia found apricot seeds in an Eneolithic-era site.[7]

Despite the great number of varieties of apricots that are grown in Armenia today (about 50),[5] according to the Soviet botanist Nikolai Vavilov its center of origin would be the Chinese region, where the domestication of apricot would have taken place. Other sources say that the apricot was first cultivated in India in about 3000 BC.[8]